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In Memory

Joanne Marie Brown (Ballard) VIEW PROFILE

Joanne Marie Brown (Ballard)

JOANNE M. (BROWN) BALLARD

May 10, 1932 - July 28, 2012
SOUTH BEND - Joanne Marie Brown Ballard, 80, passed away at 5:00 a.m., Saturday, July 28, 2012. On May 10, 1932, in South Bend, Indiana, Joanne was born to the union of the late Joseph Clyde and Alice Marie (Jones) Brown, their only child. Joanne was reared in South Bend during her primary years and Oberlin, Ohio throughout her teenage and college years.

Upon graduation from Oberlin High School in 1946, Joanne attended Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education in 1954. On July 25, 1953,

Joanne married Walter Willard Ballard, Jr., of Toledo, Ohio, who later became a dentist. They remained married for 54 years until Doc's passing in 2008. Joanne was one of the first educators in the South Bend Community School Corporation, teaching English first at James Whitcomb Riley High School and then at South Bend Central until June of 1966, when she and Walter moved the family to Pueblo, Colorado. Joanne retired from the Pueblo, Colorado Public School System in 1996. She and "Doc" remained in Colorado until their return to South Bend in 2006.

While in Colorado, she fell in love with the mountains, skiing (or her rendition thereof), rodeos, hiking (kind of), and collecting cut glass. She loved being smarter than everyone at board games, catching Doc as he made up words in Scrabble and hunting Wild Turkey (100 Proof). Joanne participated actively in several community organizations. In Pueblo, she was a member of the Eastern Star Masonic organization, and a member of First United Methodist Church. She also served on the Board of Directors of The United Way and the Community Development Corporation. Joanne tirelessly supported the love of her life, Walter, in all his pursuits involving the Lions Club International organization and the American Dental Society on the local, state and international levels.

In South Bend, she attended Pilgrim Baptist Church, was a Charter Member of Eta Mu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., where she served as Basileus from 1963-64, and was a member of The Drifters, Inc. Her love for the fine arts was demonstrated by her support of the performing arts centers in Pueblo and South Bend. Mrs.

Ballard is survived by one daughter, Patricia Joan Ballard-McCoy (Sherman) Bowie, MD; and one son, Walter Willard Ballard, III (Merline), South Bend, IN; grandchildren, Sherman, Jr., Walter IV, Christopher, Mason, Joanne and Imani; sisters-in-law, Helen, Annette and Sara; many nieces and nephews and cousins. Remember her as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter and friend.

Funeral services will be held for Mrs. Joanne Marie Ballard at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 2, 2012 at Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church. Visitation will occur from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at Alford's Mortuary. Arrangements have been entrusted with Alford's Mortuary, where messages of condolence may be e-mailed to Alfordsmortuary@att.net c/o: The Ballard family.

Published by South Bend Tribune on Aug. 1, 2012

01/02/2023 EJS



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